Firefighters have been working with Caribou students to help kids “Learn Not to Burn” since the 1980s, but the lessons kids learn in schools need to be reinforced at home.
“One of the things parents need to talk to their kids about is an escape plan — making sure they know how to get out of the house and making sure they have a safe meeting,” explained Caribou Fire Chief Scott Susi. “That way, they know everyone is out.”
That escape plan should also be practiced on occasion, and Susi recommends that families practice their escape place when they change the batteries in their smoke detector twice a year — a necessary task that’s easily paired with turning the clocks forward and backward during Daylight Savings Time adjustments.
Having kids help out with changing the smoke detector batteries is a great way to start a conversation about fire safety, and Susi stressed the importance of getting kids involved with fire safety even as young as 4 or 5 years old.
“If you practice (your escape plan), it’s something they’ll do,” Susi said.
“Another thing we tell the kids is ‘don’t hide,’” the chief mentioned. “If there’s a fire and you can’t get out, close your door and wait for help — don’t hide under the bed or in the closet.”
Caribou’s Learn Not to Burn Coordinator is firefighter/paramedic Scott Jackson, and he’s starting another year of sharing fire safety lessons with young students in Caribou and neighboring towns. While Jackson educates youths about things like “stop, drop and roll,” Jackson also helps kids encourage their parents to implement important fire safety updates at home — like posting their house numbers outside in 3-inch letters to help emergency personnel find the correct address during a crisis.
Fitting fire safety into the classroom is just as important as reading or math to Principal of Hilltop Elementary School Jane McCall.
“Educating the children is extremely important, however, we need to keep them safe,” McCall said. “We do the best job that we can to provide them with the information on how to be safe, whether it’s here at Hilltop or at their homes,” she added.
Jackson has educated the Hilltop students for years, and McCall commented on what an excellent job he does communicating with the children.
“When he talks with our pre-K students, it’s a simpler version than when he’s talking with our second-graders,” she said. “He alters his message to best meet the needs or developmental appropriateness of his audience.”
Talking to kids at home about having an escape plan is similar to talking to kids at school about fire drills, and communicating the need for escape plans is important for children to understand.
“The best thing to do is be honest with children about how these are things we always need to be prepared for, even though they may never happen,” McCall described. “It’s like how they may never fall off their bike, but we still need to have band-aids and first-aid supplies at home just in case.”
